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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24939343">Protective</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerofmadness/pseuds/Cornerofmadness'>Cornerofmadness</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Prodigal Son (TV 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Friends to Lovers, Mild Angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:28:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,321</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24939343</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerofmadness/pseuds/Cornerofmadness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone has threatened Jessica's children and she is having none of it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jessica Whitly/Jackie Arroyo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2020, Prodigal Son Pride Bingo</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Protective</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><b>Disclaimer:</b> Not mine, Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver owns it</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>Notes:</b> written for the 3AM_moonlight in comment_fic for the prompt Any, any, learning to become proficient with a deadly weapon. and the PS trash pride bingo prompt of friends to lovers. And the deadly weapon in question is a gun so there IS gun talk in this.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jessica set the Ruger .357 magnum down on the shelf next to her on the shooting range. Her fingers tingled from the recoil as she took off the noise-canceling ear protectors. She’d emptied the revolver down range while Gil watched her, his Beretta semi-automatic in its holster as he studied her shooting stance. On the other side of her, Jackie studied her too. She wished she could shoot as well as either Arroyo.  She nudged the mechanism that brought the target to her.</p>
<p>Her fingers trembled lightly as checked the holes in the round target. It reminded her of a target they used for bows and arrows but she hadn’t wanted to shoot at anything that looked human-shaped. Of course, she wouldn’t be here normally but Martin – that damn man – had come back to haunt her. She’d been getting threats to her and more importantly to her children, thanks to the people Martin had hurt. She told Gil and begged him to show her how to protect herself. She didn’t want a gun in the house, not with young kids but Gil made sure the gun safe wasn’t anything Malcolm or Ainsley could get into easily. He’d taken them both to a different shooting range to show them that it wasn’t like TV. Bullets didn’t bounce off walls or car doors. They punched through them with terrible violence.  He and she both made them promise they would never go looking for the gun in the house.</p>
<p>But if she couldn’t get proficient with it, she’d make Gil take the gun back and pray that the alarm system would be enough. Maybe she’d get a dog. Maybe Gil would catch the person threatening her. He said they had an idea who was calling in and emailing the threats.  Jessica hoped so because she could barely breathe, couldn’t eat or sleep, thinking someone would do to her babies what Martin had done to people.</p>
<p>“You’re getting better, Jess,” Gil said, “Your grouping is getting tighter.”</p>
<p>“Not bad at all,” Jackie nodded her head. Jessica wondered had Gil taught her to shoot or had growing up in the Bronx done that? Or was that classist of her?</p>
<p>“Thanks, but still, most of it isn’t in the bullseye.” She pouted. “Would I do better with a gun like yours, Gil?”</p>
<p>He frowned. “No, you’re better off with a revolver, easier to load and it has a hammer. You’ll probably get a slide bite off a gun like my Beretta and you’d struggle to load it. It’s fine, Jessica.  You’re looking to protect yourself. No one is going to shrug off getting hit, no matter where that hit is. This isn’t the movies.”</p>
<p>“I wish this wasn’t necessary.” Tears pricked her eyes and Jackie rubbed her back. Jessica relaxed into her touch. Gil’s wife was one of the sweetest people Jessica had ever met. She had wanted to dislike her, as foolish as that had been, but she had hated herself for giving up Gil. She couldn’t have been with him. Her adult family wouldn’t have allowed it and neither would have Society. She had thought High Society would welcome her back. They hadn’t but by the time reality had set in, Gil had moved on to a woman she swore Malcolm loved as much as he loved her. But it had been hard to hate Jackie. They became friends and then more.</p>
<p>“It’ll be okay,” Jackie promised her as Gil’s phone went off.</p>
<p>He scowled and answered it in terse, whispered tones. He slipped his phone in his pocket. “I have to go. Sorry. Jess, you still have twenty minutes on the range. You and Jackie finish. I’ll check in with you later, to be sure you and the kids are all right.”</p>
<p>“Thank you.”</p>
<p>Jessica didn’t want to stay but she wasn’t about to do less than her best when it came to protecting her children. Jackie gave her tips about steadying her hand and her stance. She got a little better. She still had two hours before she had to get the children. Jackie breathed the best ideas into her ear.</p>
<p>X			X			X</p>
<p>Jessica rolled onto her back on the burgundy sheets. It didn’t surprise her Jackie had such flamboyant tastes. She’d happily gone home with Jackie for some well-deserved stress relief. Jessica had realized she was bi back in her Wellesley days, kept it mostly to herself. She was private. She’d never told Martin, in spite of how much she’d loved him and was glad she hadn’t confided it, though he might have suspected. He might have used it against her. One day after nearly losing her eleven-year-old son to himself, very drunk and having had far too many valiums on top of it, she’d emotionally blurted out so many secrets to Jackie and Gil who had been trying to comfort her.</p>
<p>She barely remembered it the next day but Gil and Jackie had spent the night watching over her, Malcolm and Ainsley. Gil didn’t bring it back up but Jackie had, confiding in Jess that she was a poly pansexual and things had gone from there. She hadn’t expected to find comfort in Jackie’s arms but here she was. Gil knew. He loved his wife and in his words, he had no control over who filled Jackie’s heart. All he could do was welcome them too.</p>
<p>Seeing Jackie still drowsing, Jessica rolled onto her side, picking up her phone. She made a quick call. Jackie skimmed her hand over the warm plane of Jessica’s hip and she kissed Jessica’s shoulder. Jessica squirmed around so she could slip her arms around Jackie, kissing her way up her neck and ghosted her lips over Jackie’s. Her tanned skin turned rosy at Jessica’s attention.</p>
<p>“You have to go, don’t you?” Jackie whispered.</p>
<p>“The kids will be home soon. I’ve sent for my driver. He’ll be here shortly,” she replied regretfully. </p>
<p>Jackie brushed Jessica’s hair back. “How are they? Do they know about the man threatening you?”</p>
<p>“Ainsley doesn’t but Malcolm figured it out unfortunately.”</p>
<p>“He’s such a bright boy.” Jackie smiled.</p>
<p>“Too smart for his own good. Thank you for helping today. I’m glad I can protect myself and them. That said I’m still taking Ainsley and going on vacation with my friend down in Jekyll Island but her new husband isn’t fond of Malcolm, thinks he helped his father.” Jessica made a face. “I wish he wasn’t so obvious about it. I wouldn’t go except for wanting Ainsley out of this crazy’s line of fire but I’m so grateful you and Gil are okay with keeping Malcolm with you.” Emotions welled up again and Jessica barely battled them back.</p>
<p>Jackie kissed her, interlocking her fingers with Jessica. “Always. He brings us so much joy. I’m always happy to have Malcolm with us. We’re going to take him to Cape Breton.  I have crazy cousins who went north. He’ll love it up there.”</p>
<p>Jessica managed a weak smile. “That will be an adventure.”</p>
<p>“It will and if they haven’t caught that guy by the time we’re all back, you’re good enough to protect them, Jess. Believe in yourself.”</p>
<p>“I always have,” she said and that was mostly true, until Martin left a crack in her foundation. But the bones of her palace were good and it would not fall, no matter what he’d done to her.</p>
<p>Jackie feathered a few more kisses over her skin before Jessica had to get up and get dressed. She owed the Arroyos so much, for their support, for their love, hell even for teaching her how to shoot a gun. She would not have made it through without them. One day she’d be able to pay them back but until then she would let herself depend on them and the love they gave. She needed them, loved them in return and maybe that was all that mattered.</p>
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